Automatic lighter



July 8 l 924e H. THORENS AUTOMATIC LIGHTER Ipiled Aug. 9, 1922 llllllllllllllllllIlllllllllllllh,

Patented July 8, i924.

HERMANN THORENS, QF SAINTE-onora, SWITZERLAND.

AUTOMATIC LTGHTER.

Application filed August 9, 1922. Serial No; 580,716.

To all whom it may concern.' Be it known that I, HERMANN THORENS, citizen of the onfederation of Switzerland, residing at Sainte-Croix, `Vaud, Switzerland, have invented certain new and'useful Improvements in Automatic Lighters, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an automatic lighter in' which the sparks are 0btained by friction of a long stone against sharp edge. This lighter is characterized by the fact that when it is under tension, the stone is placed above the burner, its position after the spark has been obtained, be,

ing such that no organ will hinder the utilization of the flame.

Referring to the annexed drawing which shows, as descriptive but not restrictive, a

form of a lighter according to the invention:

lFig. 1 is avertical sectional view partly in elevation of a form of the invention,

- showing the organs in their position when the lighter is not in use; l

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the posi-v tion ofthe organs when the spark 'has just been produced by the slidingof the socket on the body.

Fig..3 is a similar view showing the lighter taken at 90 degrees comparatively to the preceding figures.

Referring now, more particularly, to the drawings the lighter comprises a body a forming a fuel reservoir in which is placed the wick coming out from the burner b. The latter is placed betweenv the branches of `a strap c whose bottom is fixed to the upper part of the reservoir. The branch c 4carries the r'ubber which cooperates with' the stone d in order` to produce the spark;`

the branch o2 forms a stop whose utility will be stated hereafter.

The reservoir is provided with a cavity e containing the stone-holder f; the latter consists of a bent up plate-spring. One of the extremities of said spring carries the stone d and the other one (g) is bent back at a right angle and catches in a little slit it of the sliding socket`z'. The tension of this plate-spring tends, on one side, to press the stone d against the rubber c and, on the other side, to couple together the stoneholder land the sliding-socket z', by means of said slit 71,.`

In this case, the sliding socket forms the lid of the lighter; for this purpose, its exing its removal from the body of the li hter.

When the lighter is not in use, the ap k This groove ends towards the lower is shut andthe organs are in the relative positions shown in Fig. l, the stone being placed above the burner and above the rubber. A descending motion of the sliding socket brings the organsof the lighter into the position shown inFig. 2. The stone vhas been brought into friction with the rubber ,and its surface has been rubbed, thus producin the spark which lights the wick.

This escendin'g motion of the sliding socket has brought thestop 7c of the iiap c' into contactwith the stop c2 so that,- somewhat -before the spark is produced, the iiap has been opened, 'thus uncovering the burner -and allowing the iiame to be lighted.

` In order to make it easier to handle the the sliding socket has been flattened, so that it maybe held between the fore-finger and the middle-finger, the pressure of the thumb on the bottom of the body a causing the re1- ativI motion cf'the organs producing the spar Whenthe organs are' in the rest position after the lighter has worked, the stone d is lodged in a recessof the strap o. It is thus completel out of the reach of the sharp edge of t e rubber against which its entire ,length has been rubbed.' It results therefrom that a rational wear of the pyrophoric element is obtained, thus allowing a perfect working of the lighter until the stone is entirely worn away. The'lattery may be very easily replaced; the stone-holder may be releasedfrom the lid and removed from the whole body when the hook g engaged in the slit 71, is pushed into the socket. The stop c2 rests lightly on the wall of the sliding socket; the latter is thus submitted to the reaction caused bythe pressure of the stone on the sharp edge of' the rubber. This arrange- `lighter with one hand, the upper part of ment prevents a wedging ofthel sliding socket on they body.u

Having thus fully described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is 1. An automatic lighter including a body, a burner in the body, a stop member on the body, a covering socket movable relatively to the body, a resiliently controlled and pivoted flap closing the outer end of the socket and opening upon relative movement ofvthe socket' and the body and upon contact with the member, andcooperative members car? ried respectively inthe body and the socket for producing a spark for igniting the burn er upon the said opening of the flap.

v 2. A11 automatic lighter as claimed in claim` 1, wherein a U`shaped bracket is mounted on the body land arranged about the burner, one arm 'of the bracket constituting the stop memberand theother arm of the bracket constituting oneof the cooperative members.

3. An automatic lighter' as claimed in claim l, wherein the body is provided Withy la compartment and wherein the cooperative member carried by the socket comprises a plate spring bent upon itself having one end secured to the cover Aand a stone carried by the free terminal, the member being accommodated Within the compartment` upon movement of the socket toward the body so as not to interfere with the flame of the burner.

4: An automatic lighter comprising a body including a fuel receptacle and a compartment parallel ,With the receptacle, a wick burner connected With the top of the receptacle, a bracket arranged about the burner, the outer arm constitutingthe stop member and the inner arm constituting a friction element, a covering socket telescoping the body, a spring controlled pivoted flap forming a cover for the socket and opened upon sliding of the socket relatively toI the body and upon Contact with the stop, a spark producing member carried by the .socket for engagement with the friction ele- 

